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The seventh cargo vessel with a capacity of 22,500 DWT was successfully launched by the Bach Dang shipbuilding industry corporation in Hai Phong on June 28. Lucky Star is the seventh cargo vessel among a series of eight 22,500 DWT vessels built by the Bach Dang shipbuilding industry corporation. The three dimensions of the vessel are 153.2m in length, 26m in width and 13.75m in height. The vessel is equipped with modern and advanced machinery imported from Japan with a capacity of 6,230 horsepower and exploitation speed of 14.5 nautical miles an hour. The vessel is designed by the Vinakita naval architect company – the joint venture between Vietnam’s Vinashin and Japan’s Kitada company on the order of the ship-owner, Vietnam ocean shipping joint stock company (Vosco).
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Work on a 60m jack-up rig was started by the Oil Rig Manufacturing Joint Stock Company (PV Shipyard) in Vung Tau city on June 26. The rig is invested by the National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) with a total capital of US$180 million and is scheduled to be built in 32 months. This large-scale rig is an automatic and mobile complex which is applied with high technology. And for the first time, the construction of this kind is built in Vietnam. The rig will helps PetroVietnam with oil and gas exploration and exploitation and reduce the leasing services from foreign contractors. The project is under the consultation and design of LeTourneau Technologies Inc (the US). The PetroVietnam Technical Services Joint Stock Company (PTSC) contributes in infrastructure facilities preparation and human resource.
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Vietnam’s economy will see positive developments in the second half of the year as the government’s loosened monetary policies and stimulus packages become effective, said a senior economic expert. According to Dr. Le Dinh An, Director of the National Centre for Socio-economic Information and Forecast (NCSIF) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam’s exports are expected to increase in the rest of the year when world prices, especially prices of export staples, are predicted to rise again, along with increasing export demand as a result of trade promotion and outlet expansion to China and Africa. The NCSIF forecasts that this year, the industrial sector’s growth rate will reach between 4.6 percent and 5.2 percent while the agricultural and service sectors will grow at 3.4-3.7 percent and 4.9-5.8 percent, respectively.
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International Consumer Product company (ICP), a men’s personal care product maker, said Friday it has acquired 51% stake of Thuan Phat Food Company to expand its operations into the food industry. President Le Trung Thanh said the acquisition was a milestone for the company, which is also looking to expand into the women’s personal care market. Thanh said ICP, which developed X-men, Dr. Men and Teen-X brands, would develop Thuan Phat’s distribution system, marketing and human resources. Vietnam’s food industry is promising as its 2008 revenue increased about 30% to VND20 trillion (US$1 billion) year on year, according to Thanh. ICP has 60,000 outlets and earned $20.8 million in revenue last year, a 44.6% increase from 2007 while Thuan Phat, which specialized in fish sauce, hot spices and pickles for domestic and export markets, runs three factories and has 3,000 outlets nationwide.
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The European Union (EU) ranks first among markets consuming Vietnam’s aquatic products with US$357 million, making up 26 percent of the country’s seafood exports, followed by Japan. Among Vietnamese export products, Tra and Basa catfish tops the list with the US and the EU becoming the biggest importers, while shrimp ranks 2nd thanks to demand from the Japanese market. The Russian market is growing in importance as well, with a large and diversified consumption demand for Tra and Basa catfish. With US$320 million netted in June, Vietnam’s aquatic export turnover in the first half of this year reached nearly US$1.7 billion, down 11 percent against the same period last year. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in recent months, due to effects of global economic recession, many Vietnamese aquatic products have cut their prices to stimulate demand.
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Provinces and cities have harvested more than 18.6 million tons of winter-spring rice, an increase of 312,000 tons compared with the same crop last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). Thanks to favorable weather conditions and the agricultural extension program, northern farmers had a bumper crop this year, yielding a total of more than 6.8 million tons, up 120,000 tons. Meanwhile, farmers in the Mekong River Delta – the country’s largest rice granary - harvested 9.8 million tons, up 23,000 tons. This year, they focused on planting high-quality rice strains for export and several special strains for local consumption. The MARD has instructed southern farmers to begin transplanting summer-autumn and autumn-winter rice and at the same time encouraged them to expand the acreage.
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Shares in Vietcombank (VCB), Vietnam’s largest partly private lender, jumped by the maximum 20% allowed on their domestic debut on Tuesday. The stock rose to 60,000 dong ($3.37) by 0130 GMT in a partial listing of the Hanoi-based bank on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange .VNI, at the top of a range of investors’ bids that started at 59,000 dong, Reuters data showed. Stock market regulators said foreign investors could buy all 112.3 million shares in the partial listing. Foreign investors are allowed to own 30 percent of a Vietnamese bank, but the Vietcombank shares listed in Ho Chi Minh are below the government ceiling, so foreign investors could buy all those listed shares.
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Foreign investors were net buyers of VND51.9 billion ($ 2.96 million) of Vietnamese stocks Monday out of a total VND1.02 trillion traded, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange said. Volume traded totaled 27.2 million shares, with foreigners accounting for 15% of that volume, the stock market operator said. In the month to date, foreign investors have been net sellers of VND351.3 billion of Vietnamese stocks.
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Vietnam’s automobile import is expected to go down 57% year-on-year to 392.2 million U.S. dollars worth of 23,100 units in the first half of this year, according to a report of the Vietnam’s General Statistics Office on Monday. The Office said the decrease in import turnover in the first six months was mostly because of an increase of several taxes and fees imposed on automobile in 2009. In June alone, Vietnam is forecast to import 6,000 automobile units with import turnover of 90 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 1,200 in volume and 10 million U.S. dollars in value, compared to the figures of last month. This is the fourth consecutive month which records an increase in automobile import, according to the office.
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Vietnam will likely have a budget deficit of VND26.5 trillion ($1.5 billion) in the first half of this year, the Communist Party of Vietnam said Monday. Total budget revenue is expected to be VND171 trillion in the January-June period, 43.9% of the target for the whole year, the party said in a statement on its Web site, citing the Ministry of Planning and Investment. It said revenue from crude oil sales will be VND23 trillion. Total budget spending is expected to be VND197.5 trillion in the first six months, or 40.2% of the yearly target, it said. Of the total spending, VND25.9 trillion is to be used for repaying debt. Earlier this month, the National Assembly ratified a target for the state budget deficit to be no more than 7% of the gross domestic product for the year.
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Vietnam has started building the 750-megawatt Nhon Trach 2 Power Plant in the southern province of Dong Nai to ease electricity shortages, the government said. Construction began June 27, the government said in a statement posted on its Web site. State-run Vietnam Oil & Gas Group owns about 51.8% of the $700 million plant. The plant is intended to help ensure stable power supplies and energy security, and improve flows to the national grid, the government said. Other major investors include Electricity of Vietnam, Vietnam Post & Telecommunications, Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Group, and Bank for Investment & Development of Vietnam, according to the statement. Construction of the plant, designed to have annual output of about 4.5 billion kilowatt-hours, will be completed at the end of 2011, when it will start generating power, the government said.
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Japan’s Kirin Holdings Corporation will invest US$60 million in a beverage joint venture company with Acecook Vietnam. The two firms will set up a beverage company named Kirin Acecook Vietnam, with its headquarters and manufacturing base in southern Binh Duong Province. The company’s first product will be Latte – a blend of milk and natural herbal and floral ingredients. The product will taste similar to milk tea, or milk fruit juice, according to the company. The Kirin Group is a global company specializing in producing food, alcohol, soft drinks, pharmaceuticals and beer. Acecook Vietnam is famous for its instant noodle products.
